South Dakota


Gladys Pyle
(1890 – 1989)

Gladys Pyle was born in Huron, South Dakota on October 4, 1890.  Growing up, she attended public schools and later Huron College.  After teaching high school in Miller, Wessington, and Huron, South Dakota, Gladys became the first woman member of the House of Representatives in 1923.  Ironically, Gladys' suffragette mother, who served as first president of the South Dakota League of Women Voters and who was the first woman nominated in South Dakota as a presidential elector, tried to discourage her daughter from even entering politics and government.  No one could stop Gladys, though, and continued a life of politics.  She later served at Secretary of State of South Dakota, and in 1938, she became the first republican woman elected to the Senate. 

For more information on Gladys Pyle, you can visit the following websites:

	http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=p000581
	http://www.glpta.org/watermarkpeople.htm